Material handling device



NOV. 19, 1940. H LYKKEN 2,222,437

MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE Filed June 24, 1939 2. SheetsSheet 1 F/e.4 F765F166 4e 5 I 555/ 4 5 26 jif x45 ATTOENEW Nov. 19, 1940. LYKKEN 2,222,437

MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICI Filed June 24, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [NVENTOBHENRY 6. L YKKEN Patented Nov. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HiJQZLIFJZT... Application June 24, 1939, Serial No- 280,998

12 Claims. (CL 37-42) The present invention relates to a method andapparatus for removing snow and other material from roadways andinvolves the use of air under pressure to facilitate lateral movementand disposal of the snow or other material being handled. The method ofthe invention is carried out by means of an apparatus having a moldboardsection disposed diagonally with respect to the centerline of apropulsion vehicle. In

previous devices involving the use of a diagonally disposed moldboardthe material being moved, whether snow or other road material, isengaged by the diagonally positioned moldboard and is given a. sidewisecomponent of motion, and is ultimately deposited in a ridge at one sideof the path being cleared. Thus with the conventional snowplow, snow isheaped along the path being cleared and forms a wall of snow on bothsides,

from which it frequently redrifts-into the cleared space.

In order to reduce the height of the roadside deposit, the ordinary snowplow is operated at high speeds so that the snow is tossed over a widearea on the roadside. However, this ex- 26 pedient is not successfulwhere deep or wet snow is encountered, where the work is done on curves,on grades, or where roadside impediments are frequently encountered.This method of snow plowing is incapable under any circum- 30 stances ofwidely distributing the removed material.

As another expedient for distributing the snow over a wide roadsidearea, snowplows have been equipped with scarfing blades set at anelevation a and usually behind the main moldboard. Scarfing blades do nomore than to cut down the main roadside snow wall and being mountedalongside the vehicle, have the objection that they must be retractedfrequently to clear road- 4 side obstructions.

Various mechanical material moving expedients such as feed screws,moving blades, paddle wheels and the like have also been applied to themoldboard construction, but these are all 5 objectionable for severalreasons. Firstly, it is diflicult and cumbersome to transmit mechanicalmovements from a power source on the vehicle to'a movable element in anadjustable moldboard. Secondly, any screw, paddle or blade interposed onthe snow engaging surface of the moldboardforms an obstruction whichprevents normal movement of the snow across the moldboard, and hence,the mechanical adjunct be-,

comes a hindrance unless positively operated. 86 Stated another way, themoldboard having a mechanical adjunct cannot be operated as a plainmoldboard.

According to the present invention, a pneumatic blast device is used inconjunction with a usual moldboard, or especially contrived mold- 5board to impel snow or other material belngremoved toward the trailingedge of the moldboard. Due to the pneumatic blast, the snow or othermaterial is given a lateral movement in the direction normally moved bythe moldboard, with 10 the combined result that the snow or othermaterial is scattered over a wide roadside strip, L rather than piled ina ridge along the roadway. The danger due to redrifting is thus reducedor entirely eliminated and snow removal greatly 15 expedited.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a methodof material handling and a material handling device having a combinedmoldboardand pneumatic blast device for so transferring materials suchas snow.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a traction vehicle havinga diagonal moldboard thereon and having air blast means positioned onthe vehicle for providing an air blast along 25 the material engagingface of the moldboard toward one end thereof.

It is'also an object to provide an improved moldboard constructionhaving a material engaging face and having one or more blast nozzle 3means formed therein or thereon, and to provide a traction vehicle formounting and carrying the moldboard and nozzle means, a compressed airsupply device, air conduit means and auxiliary appendages such as meansfor controlling the air supply.

The above and other inherent and implied objects will be more apparentfrom the description, drawings and claims. The specific embodimentshereinafter described and illustrated are merely illustrative of theinventions involved, and may be widely varied to satisfy specific designrequirements.

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the forward end of a tractionvehicle made in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the improved moldboard and air blastmeans;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the improved moldboard and air blastmeans taken along the 50 line 33 of Figure 2;

Figures 4, 5, 6 and '7 are vertical sections of the moldboard takenalong the lines 4-4, 5-5, 6-6 and 1-1, respectively, of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a partial plan view showing the abie front wheels H and reardrive wheels l2." This traction vehicle may be an ordinary motor I truckwhich is augmented at certainseasons of the year by the attachment ofparts so as to provide a material handling or snow removing apparatus.

The material handling or snow removing apparatus carried by the tractionvehicle comprises a moldboard generally designated 20, an air supplyapparatus-generally designated 10, and an air conduitarrangementgenerally designated 80 for conveying air from the apparatus 70 to themoldboard apparatus 20.

According to the present invention, the moldboard is preferably carriedforwardly of the vehicle and diagonally with respect to the center lineof the vehicle as shown in Figure 1. With the arrangement as the vehiclemoves forwardly, the moldboard engages the material such assnowandvimparts'to the snow a component of motion parallel to the moldboard inthe direction of the arrow 2|. The material slides toward, the trailingedge 22 of the moldboard and is deposited over a wide area along theside of the road. The component of motion in the 7 direction of .arrow2| in the ordinary grader of snowplow arrangement is due entirely to theforward motion of the vehicle and is not sum-- cient ordinarily'to throwthe material or snow to any great distance beyond the trailing edge 22of the moldboard.

According to the present invention, there is provided one or more blastnozzles either formed integral with the moldboard or mounted near thematerial engaging face of the moldboard so as to provide ablast of airalong the material engaging surface in the direction of arrow 2|.

In Figures 2. through 7. the moldboard is shown as consisting of threecurved plates 24, 25 and 25, which are positioned in overlappingrelationship as shown in Figure -3. The plate 24 is curved as shown inFigures 6 and 7 so as to provide a vertical section and an overhangingpart 3| and has a length of about one-.

third the length of the moldboard structure.

Plate 25 is likewise curved as shown in Fig-1 ures 5, 6 and 7 to providea vertical portion 32 and an overhanging portion 33, and has a length ofapproximately two-thirds the length of the;

moldboard structure. Plate 25 is nested behind plate 24 as shown inFigure 3 and is held in spaced relationship thereto by being joined atthe edges 34 and 35. Being thus held in spaced relationship, there isprovided a narrow orifice 38 between the two plates .as shown in Figure6.

Plate 26 which has a length equal to the length of the moldboardarrangement is likewise curved so as to provide a vertical portion 40and an 1 overhanging portion 4|, and is nested behind 1 plates 24 and 25and is joined thereto at the edges. Plates 25 and 25 are shaped so as.to

provide anothernarrow air blast orifice 42 where plate- 25 terminates inoverlappin relationship against plate 25. a

In some instances, it is desirable to provide spacing and strengtheningribs 43 between plates 24 and 25 and similar spacing ribs 44 betweenplates 25 and 25 so that the spacingbetween the plates will bemaintained regardless-of the pressure exerted against the front of theplates b'ythe material being handled. 5

The edges 34 and where plates 24, 25 and 26 are joined together arepreferably madev by welding the three plates into an integral unit,

and at the right end of the moldboard structure as shown in Figure 3,there is provided an end wall 45, which is joinedin airtightrelationship to the edges of the three plates. In this way, there isprovided a manifold at 50 between plates 24 and 25 and another manifold5| between plates 25 and 25. The nipple 53 is provided for deliveringair into the manifold 5| and another through nipple 55 is provided fordelivering air into manifold 50. As illustrated in Figure 3, the spacingribs 43 and 44 are interruptedat 45 so that manifolds 50 and 5| are notdivided. In some instances, however, the vertically divided 2:; manifoldis desirable, as explained below.

The moldboard structure is arranged to be carried forwardly of thevehicle by struts 60 and 5|, which are attached to the moldboardstructure by means of cap screw 62. If desired, the 30 ground wheels maybe provided for carrying the moldboard in closely spaced relationship tothe surface of the roadway over which it travels. Since caster wheels ofthis type are commonly used in scarflng and moldboard arrangements, asthey are not illustrated here.

In Figure 1, strut 50 is illustrated as being of greater length thanstrut 6|. Obviously, hoisting or elevating arrangements for themoldboard may be used if desired.

Upon the vehicle, there is provided an air compressor unit, generallydesignated III, which may be driven from the motor ofthe tractionvehicle, or by a separate motor. The air compressor unit is of anydesired standard construction capable of producing a relatively largevolume of air at a relatively low pressure such as a positivedisplacement rotary compressor.

The compressed air delivered by compressor 10 is conveyed from thecompressor unit to the moldboard structure 20 by the conduit and pipingarrangement generally designated 80. In the illustrated form of theinvention, a main delivery hose 3| extends from manifold 'll of the aircompression unit to a Y-connection 82,

at. which point the air flow is divided and is carried by conduits 33and 84. Adjacent the drivers seat, there is preferably providedregulating valves 85 and 86, bymeans of which the driver of the machinemay regulate the amount of air delivered to each of the manifolds 50 and5|. The conduits 8|, 83 and 84 are preferably of fiexiblerubber hose soas to facilitate mounting of the air compressor unit in the ordinaryload carrying body of the traction vehicle and 55 to facilitate carryingthe air supply to the moldboard structure at the forward end of thevehicle. By thus providing flexible conduitmeans for conveying the air,themoldboard structure is left free to move vertically with respect tothe vehicle and the entire arrangement may quickly be lifted on to anordinary truck body and attached thereto with the result that anordinary truck can be combined into an improved snowplow arrangementofthe present invention in but a few minutes time. The position of theair compressor unit is not critical as the flexible hoses admit of easyrearrangement.

The range of pressures and amounts of air used in connection with thepresent invention may obviously be varied widely from but a few ouncespressure to approximately ten pounds pressure, and from a small volumeto a large volume. For light fluffy and easily movable material, Iprefer to use a relatively large volume of air at relatively lowpressures. Thus, from 5 to 6 thousand cubic feet of free air per minutedelivered at two pounds pressure to manifolds 50 and 5| gives goodresults with mostsnow conditions. For extremely wet and heavy snow, itis desirable to increase the pressure somewhat, and for light snow fallsof dry impalpable snow particles, lesser pressures may be used. Undersome conditions, it is desirable touse only one or the other of theblast nozzles depending upon the density and depth of snow fall, andunder some conditions, unequal volumes of air may be delivered by theseveral blast nozzles.

In Figures 8 through 11, there is illustrated a plow consisting of twomoldboards joined together in V-formation as shown in Figure 8. In thisinstance as before, the moldboard arrangement is mounted upon a tractionvehicle generally designated I0, which carries an air compressor andsupply arrangement generally "designated 10. The V-type moldboardarrangetached to moldboards IOI and I02 respectively by welding,riveting or bolting. The curvature of moldboard I06, for example, is asillustrated in Figure 11, and is such as to provide a narrow air blastnozzle space at I08. The inward ends of moldboards I05 and I06 areprovided with enclosure plates H and III respectively so as to formclosed manifolds H2 and 'I I3 respectively. The moldboard I06 isprovided with an air delivery nozzle H5 and moldboard I05 is providedwith an air delivery nozzle I I4. As in the previously describedmodification, it is desirable to provide stiffening ridges I09 betweenmoldboards ml and I05 and between moldboards I02 and I06. It will benoted that as illustrated, these ridges do not extend back to the airinlet tubes and accordingly do not separate the air chamber intosections.

The V-type moldboard arrangement I00 is attached to the traction vehicleby a pair of struts I20 and I2I and may be provided with a groundengaging wheel immediately behind the moldboard structure near theV-point thereof as illustrated at I23. Hoisting arrangement forelevating the V-type moldboard with respect to the vehicle may likewisebe provided if desired.

In this modification of the invention, there is likewise provided an airdelivery conduit I 83 which extends from the air supply and compressordevice I0 to manifold H2, and another air delivery conduit I84, whichextends from the air compressor and supply apparatus to manifold H3. Theair delivery conduits may, as in the previously described modificationof the invention, be provided vg'tih regulating valves I85 and I06respectively by w oh the air supply delivered to each of the two V-typeblades may be varied as desired by the operator of the vehicle. A g

In each of the modifications of the invention heretofore described, theair blast provided along the face of the moldboard and toward thetrailing edges thereof serves to move the material being handled such assnow and to impart to the material an exceedingly great velocity whichserves to distribute the material over a wide area beyond the trailingedge of the moldboard blade. In this respect, it differs from devicesheretofore used. The air blast along the material and engaging surfaceof the moldboard is confined due to the pressure of the material againstthe moldboard and thus the velocity energy of the air blast is impartedto the particles of material being handled with little loss of energy.As a consequence, the power of the air compressor motor is efficientlydelivered to the material and the material may thus be scattered over awide area with relatively smaller horsepower requirements than inprevious arrangements. I In the illustrated modification where from 7 to8 thousand cubic feet of free air per minute is utilized at, forexample, 2 pounds of pressure,

- the air compressor will require approximately 80 horsepower, and.thispower is delivered eiiiciently and with relatively little loss to thematerial being removed. The air blast along the face of the moldboardalso assists the movement of the material by forming a thin film of a rbetween the material and the'moldboard itself which serves greatly toreduce the frictional loss due to impactment of material against themoldboard. Thus the energy imparted to the material being handled due tothe forward movement of the-traction vehicle alone is largely conservedand imparts to the material a greater sideways velocity than inapparatus where the air film separation of the material from themoldboard is not present. The use of the air blast principle of thepresent invention thus serves to enhance the material moving propensityof the ordinary moldboard arrangement.

. It will be noted also that in the present invention the moldboardstructure may be used without the .air blast and without serious loss inthe efiiciency of the moldboard due to the fact that the vertical areapresented to the material being moved is substantially the same smootharea as is found in the ordinary moldboard con-- struction.

Many obvious variations may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe present invention illustrated, described and claimed herein, asfollows:

I claim:

1. The combination comprising a moldboard shaped substantially like apartial cylinder and a fluid blast nozzle positioned adjacent saidmoldboard and directed to project a blast of fluid substantiallyparallel to the moldboard and along the face thereof.

2. The combination comprising a snowplow moldboard shaped substantiallylike a partial cylinder, a fluid blast nozzle mounted in juxtapositionto said moldboard in a position to direct a fluid blast substantiallyparallel to the face of the moldboard and in the direction of flow ofsnow along the snow engaging surface of said moldboard.

3. The combination comprising a snowplow moldboard, formed to include aplurality of fluid iao tween the overlapping ends for maintaining theoverlapped ends in spaced relationship, and fluid manifold means behindthe plates communicating with the space at the overlap.

6. The combination comprising a traction vehicle, a moldboard mounteddiagonally on said vehicle in a position for scraping the surface overwhich the vehicle travels,.and fluid nozzle means mounted on saidvehicle, said nozzle means being oriented to direct a fluid blast alongthe surface of the moldboard substantially parallel thereto in thedirection normally travelled by material being scraped thereby.

7. A snowplow comprising a traction vehicle,

' a snowplow moldboard mounted diagonally on said vehicle, an air blastnozzle mounted on said vehicle in a position to direct an air blastalong and substantially parallel to the snow engaging surface of themoldboard in the direction in' which the snow is normally propelled byengagement of said diagonally mounted moldboard with the snow.

8. A snowplow comprising a traction vehicle, a snowplow moldboardmounted diagonally of the vehicle, said moldboard being formed with aplurality of blast nozzles positioned for projecting air along andsubstantially parallel to the snow engaging surface of the moldboard andtoward the trailing edgethereof, and air compressor and delivery meanson said vehicle for supplying air under pressure to said nozzles.

9. A snowplow comprising a traction vehicle, a

plurality of moldboards attached together in V- formation to form aV-shaped plow, means for mounting said plow forwardly of the vehicle,and air blast nozzle means on said moldboards for projecting blasts ofair substantially parallel to the face of the moldboard and along thesnow engaging'surfaces of said moldboards toward the trailing edgesthereof, and means on the vehicle for supplying air under pressure tosaid nozzle means. I

10. A snowplow comprising a traction vehicle, a snowplow moldboardmounted diagonally at the forward end of said vehicle, said snowplowmoldboard being formed with a plurality of nozzle means at intervalsalong the snow engaging face thereof, said nozzle means being positionedfor delivering'air blasts substantially parallel to the moldboard alongthe snow engaging surface thereof toward the trailing edge of themoldboard,

air compressor and delivery means on the vehicle for delivering airunder pressure to the nozzle means, and operator controlled means forregulating the volume of air delivered to said individual nozzle means.

11. The method of removing material such as snow from a surface such asa roadway which comprises propelling a scraping blade along said surfaceto collect the material there against and projecting an air blast alongthe material engaging surface of the blade substantially parallel to theblade and in a direction transverse to direction of motion so aslaterally to project the material collected against the blade.

12. The method of removing material such as snow from a surface such asa roadway which comprises propelling along said surface a mold-.- boardsection which is disposed diagonally with respect to the direction ofpropulsion to collect .and laterally transfer the material being removedand projecting an air blast along the material engaging surface of saidblade substantially parlateral movement to enhance said movement. HENRYG. LYKKEN.

allel to the blade and in the direction of said

